Advertisement

More stories

Umno Presiden Datuk Seri Najib Razak (centre) during the opening ceremony of the 2016 Umno General Assembly, in Kuala Lumpur December 1, 2016. — Bernama picKUALA LUMPUR, Dec 1 — The actions of former Umno president Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad are the “peak” of betrayal to the party, the country, and also the Malay race, his successor Datuk Seri Najib Razak said today.

He described Dr Mahathir, who left Umno and formed opposition party Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) as having committed “disgusting” acts by working with DAP and participating in rallies such as Bersih.

“Dr Mahathir who was once a celebrated statesman, has now turned sides against the very party that he had led for decades,” Najib told over 2,700 delegates at the start of the Umno general assembly here today.

“The fact is, this is the peak of a betrayal to Umno, the race and the country,” Najib said.

He also accused Dr Mahathir of colluding with “foreign enemies” such as US billionaire George Soros, whose Open Society Foundations (OSF) has been funding local groups allegedly for a plot to depose the government.

The allegation was cited for the detention of Bersih 2.0 chairman Maria Chin Abdullah using the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act.

“He (Dr Mahathir) now is part of disgusting actions such as working with DAP, joining Bersih, and worse, being in cahoots with foreign enemies like Soros who was once hated as a currency crook,” he added.

Najib earlier listed out the times he and fellow Umno leaders had stood by the party during crises that took place during Dr Mahathir’s presidency.

Dr Mahathir resigned from the party again this year following his campaign against Najib.

He went on to form PPBM, which then joined the Pakatan Harapan opposition pact that includes Umno’s political rival DAP last month.